Posts from the ‘Personal’ Category

2020 Word of the Year: Bliss

 

 

Happy New Year!  We had a great time over the Holidays and we hope that you did, too!  Alex was off from school for two weeks, and we all kept really busy, as a result!  We are now getting caught up and back into the swing of things!  Victory is so happy, I think, to have a quiet house back to herself during the week!  And, Alex is happy to be back with her friends at school!  I have reflected on my word for this year: bliss.  Last year I chose embrace; in 2018 the word peace; in 2017 I chose relax; in 2016 I chose present; in 2015 I chose flow; in 2014 I chose trust; and in 2013 I chose the word create.  The idea of picking an intention has worked well over the past few years.  (I particularly loved this talk about not having specific New Year’s resolutions, per se.)

Bliss defined: /blis/ noun 1. perfect happiness; great joy.

Each day is truly a gift.  This past year was a good year filled with a lot of growth.  Our collective intention, this year, is to have as much bliss and fun as possible!  I am excited to see how this year unfolds.  And, we are off to a good start implementing this word/intention!

Are you considering selecting a word for yourself (or letting one find you)?  There is no right or wrong.  The main thing to remember is that this is your word.

And what do you do with this one little word?  You live with it.  You invite it into your life.  You let it speak to you.  There are so many possibilities.

Happy New Year!

 

Happy Pawlidays!

“What would the world be like without music or rivers or the green and tender grass?  What would this world be like without dogs?” — Mary Oliver

Happy Pawlidays!  Thank you so much for a wonderful year filled with much growth.  I wanted to thank you so much for checking in over the past year — I am very grateful.

Below is the front of our Pawliday card (the back of our card containing text is not pictured) along with our matching envelopes using custom stamps and little photo seals of our beautiful girls, Alex and Victory! (You can view our previous Pawliday cards here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).  Sending our Pawliday card is one of my favorite parts of the Holiday season!  This is my way of sharing our Pawliday card with you.  Thank you for reading this blog for however long or short you have been reading.  I sincerely enjoy creating content for the blog to share with you.

 

 

 

 

 

And, here is a short video from Alex saying ‘thank you’ for reading, too!

 

I will be taking a break from the blog to enjoy some down time with our little family, and I plan to be back to the blog sometime early next year.  We have some fun activities planned!  Meanwhile, if you are in a blog-reading mood, you are warmly invited to visit the archives — the links are shown below.  Warmest wishes to you.  This life…it’s all a gift.

Dog Related posts

Dog Rescue posts

‘Dog-Centric’ Artists Interviews

For Artists posts

Photography posts

Personal posts

Victory Related posts

What surprised me most about becoming a mom

Our little girl, Alex, is nearly seventeen months old, which is difficult to believe.  Almost a year and a half into this journey, I finally feel more acclimated to our ‘new normal.’  My body feels more how it used to feel before Alex; I am getting more sleep, which is so helpful; and we know our little Alex more — her personality, her routine, what she likes, what she does not like, which, of course, is always changing.  Albeit, there are days where Doug and I both collapse into bed at night, with Victory, because we are utterly exhausted, both wondering how we will get up the next day, at the crack of dawn, (Alex is our alarm now) and do it all over again!

Besides the normal things one likely hears prior to having a baby such as, ‘your life will forever change; you won’t sleep for awhile; and you won’t have much time,’ which to a large degree are all true, what nobody really tells you is how much fun you will have with your baby.  Now that Alex is communicating verbally more, and we know what to expect with her more, to a degree, we have so much fun together!  The early months were difficult with trying to navigate this uncharted territory and just generally feeling a little off, in the beginning, trying to get the hang of it all.  Now, as a family, I think we have found our flow, for now, and it is all getting a bit easier to navigate.  Alex is always up for an adventure, with her side kick, Victory, and we have a lot of fun with Alex and Victory.  Alex is almost saying ‘Tory,’ Victory’s nickname!  It is just really neat to witness her growing and changing, there is nothing like it.  All that to say, I am working the hardest I ever have, but I am having the most fun, ever!

Happy Thursday!

 

 

 

Being Present

It is that time of year when things can get hectic and sometimes overwhelming for some people.  This often results in making it more difficult to stay present during these times.

I recently read an article about slow parenting, and it really resonated with me:

“I encourage parents to take some time to just watch their children, whether they are playing, doing homework, or eating a snack,” [John Duffy, a clinical psychologist and author of The Available Parent] says.  “Take a moment to drink them in.  Remember and remind yourself how remarkable your children are.  That pause alone, even if momentary, can drive a shift in the pace”…

“We don’t over schedule ourselves.  My husband and I spend lots of time at home.  My kids dig in the dirt and ride bikes, we blow bubbles and go to the beach,” says [Lindsay Miller, a mother of three boys, ages 2, 4, and 7]…

“These days when everyone is so busy, we need to be intentional about making space for family time…”  Family time, says Contey [cofounder of Slow Family Living] is different for all of us.  “You might say, ‘we’re all here on Thursday mornings, so let’s make a leisurely pancake breakfast’; or one night a week take a walk in the dark before bed.  Something like that can feel really special and the kids will remember it as they get older”…

I loved the above line about simply watching your children.  There is so much to really see when we truly stop to just simply watch and show up in the moment.  We usually incorporate fun outings on the weekends as a family.  But sometimes, maybe, it is nice to not do anything.  This month, I am inspired to slow down and let Alex take the lead.  Maybe this will mean that she will gather up all of our laundry and put it in the washer, a favorite ritual!  (She also likes to stop the wash in the middle of the cycle by pressing all of the buttons on the washing machine!)  Also, maybe this will mean she will carry her little step stool all over the house.  She loves to use her step stool to get up on the beds or chairs to sit along with trying to pet Victory, while she is sitting on our bed.  She also loves to go into the bathrooms with her trusty step stool, especially when one of us is getting ready, whereby she takes down all of the items on the counter and then run around the house with her menagerie, as she always needs to be holding something whether that be my small canister of gum, lotion, Doug’s case for his glasses, or her bubbles, etc.!

It is nice to notice the little things — like witnessing how Alex figures things out, what makes her laugh, and seeing what she enjoys, and truly being with her, which is what all kids desire.  This is not a new idea but it feels this way, for me, sometimes, especially when I feel in a hurry and hurrying Alex along, too.  However, things always go much smoother when you simply are in the moment and not rushing through things.  I captured a few images of our girls, Alex and Victory, recently.  They both are always so present.  (And, yes, Alex’s crib is the only way to keep the two of them in the same vicinity these days!)

I wish every single one of you the gift of presence.  To quote Mary Oliver: “To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a brief video of the girls together!

Season of Gratitude: 2019

 

It is that time of year, autumn, our favorite season; and it is a time for reflection and harvest.  I have learned that a gratitude practice can be really helpful.  So, on this cool early morning, while Alex is still asleep in her room; Victory is curled up resting on our pillows, at the head of our bed; and Doug has just left for work, here is what I am immensely thankful for:

• writing during this cold dark morning in silence with a cup of hot apple cider next to me
• the early mornings where I have a little time to myself
• sleep and more sleep — so thankful for more (and more uninterrupted) sleep
• getting to be a ‘fur mamma’ and human mamma
• our healthy toddler who is thriving
• our fur girl, Victory, who recently received a clean bill of health at the vet during her annual exam; and, notably, she has even lost a pound, with one more to go, per the vet!  Her daily walks and her new food are really helping in this area!  (And, Alex has now surpassed her fur sister in weight!)
• our warm house filled with wonderful natural light
• the sound of Alex’s giggles and growing vocabulary
• everything about my husband, the way he smells, his touch, and how he fathers
• walks outside taking in the cool fall air
• our second trip to the pumpkin patch, as a family of four
• our second Thanksgiving as a family of four
• opportunities for personal growth
• our ‘night-night’ routine with Alex and our fur girl, Victory
• our family time together
• our family dinners together
• our family outings together
• a strong, healthy marriage
• nearly finishing the revisions on my long-term photography project; it has been such a process and journey; and I am reviewing the body of work and moving onto the next steps
• my mentor who has helped guide me through this creative photography project process
• friends who are always there, no matter what
• Doug’s new position at a research and development lab
• the way Alex looks at us in the morning when she has just woken up — there are no words to describe this feeling
• listening to Alex talk to herself in the early mornings, which is so endearing
• a play school, which Alex loves, where she is constantly learning and growing
• spending one-on-one time with our girls
• lunches and dinners with good friends
• enjoying good books
• enjoying time for exercise
• the privilege of being taught by others
• the ability to be present
• the ability to choose
• the ability to write, think, imagine, and create
• feeling at peace
• the way Alex loves Victory, it is just so sweet — even though, for now, Alex is calling Victory, “Lou Lou!”

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Fifteen Month and Sixteenth Month Snapshot: Alexandra

I completed the monthly snapshots of our beloved Alex during her first year.  Here is the snapshot of Alex’s fifteenth month and sixteenth month!  (You can view Alex’s thirteenth and fourteenth months here).  Alex is just changing all of the time and she is still growing like a weed!

Alex is still extremely busy!  She is always doing something!  She is quite curious, adventurous, and she loves exploring.  She loves being read to and she now likes to go to bed with her board books, which she is pretty hard on, as she breaks the binding of the books, at times!  (We have already had to replace a few books!)  She loves playing hide and seek!  She usually likes to hide in our bathroom or my closet and she thinks it is hilarious when we ‘find’ her!  She also loves to play telephone, and Doug usually plays this game with her — they hand the phone back and forth and pretend someone is calling for little Alex!  She also recently started brushing her own hair, it is so cute!  She also loves Taylor Swift’s, The Man song, which we play in the evenings, and she dances, and it is incredibly heartwarming!

During this time, we did a lot of swimming!  Alex took swim lessons at the Goldfish Swim School and she swims regularly at our gym!  Alex loves the water and she is pretty brave when it comes to trying new things, thankfully!  She still loves her bath time as well, and Daddy usually gives her a bath in the evenings these days!  We took our girls to Pups in the Park along with several trips to the park, book store, as well as dinner outings!  We also took Alex and Victory to Lowe’s and Bass Pro, during bad weather; Alex loved getting on the boats and the all-terrain vehicles, along with the big lawn mowers at Lowe’s; and she also loved the Lego store, near Bass Pro, too!  We also took a trip to the petting farm and two trips to the pumpkin patch!  Alex was adventurous and she rode a horse at the petting farm, shown below!  We celebrated, one of our favorite times of year, Halloween with our Super Girls!  Alex also participated in a school Halloween parade and celebration, and she had a wonderful time!  Alex even went trick-or-treating to about a dozen nearby houses!  She had a ball, and she even helped hand out candy before getting too tired!  We also took a lot of long walks in our neighborhood together, which Alex enjoys!  (We have to order the Bob Stroller soon, as Alex has already just about grown out of the Bugaboo Fox Stroller, sadly, which should have lasted until she was about three, but she is so tall!)  Alex also attended two birthday parties and she had a ball!  One party took place at Pump it Up, and Alex went down steep slides all by herself (Doug, fortunately, carried her up the steep steps, multiple times!)  A brief video is below!  We, of course, also celebrated Victory’s eighth birthday!  Alex, especially, loved celebrating Victory’s birthday — she absolutely loves balloons!

Alex has started saying more words!  It is endearing listening to her talking to herself in her room early in the morning!  Alex is sleeping eleven to twelve hours a night, although the recent time change has caused Alex to wake early, but we are almost back on track, fortunately.  We are so beyond elated!  She is also still taking a morning nap and afternoon nap.  Alex loves to climb and, when she wants up, it is the cutest, she says, “I sit!”  Most of the time, she usually can get up on the object she is climbing, on her own.  Alex now climbs up the stairs and goes down the slide at the park all by herself!  Additionally, Alex loves Victory and says “hi” to Victory all of the time.  There is a resident dog at Alex’s school named “Lou Lou.”  Alex, consequently, calls every dog, including Victory, “Lou Lou!”  When we are on walks together, and when Alex spots a dog, she waves and says, “Hi, Lou Lou!”  We are working on getting Alex to say, “Tory,” Victory’s nickname!  Alex still likes to run after Victory, so we keep that to a minimum, for Victory’s sake!  Victory is a good sport with Alex, and we cannot wait for when Alex really understands that she cannot run and pull on Victory — we will eventually get there!  Victory loves her little sister, too.  She is very tolerant, thankfully!

Alex, as of the fifteenth month, is officially off the bottle!  Yay!  She is slimming down a little, too, as a result.  She loved the bottle, but it was time for her to exclusively use the sippy cup!  (Alex still loves her paci for nap time and bed time!  We are aiming to get rid of her paci by age two, per the pediatrician and dentist!)  Alex is also feeding herself, pretty well, with a spoon and spork!  She really loves being independent!  She absolutely loves fresh watermelon — a favorite fruit!  She loves carrot sticks, too!  We are introducing more fruits and vegetables and she is even eating more chicken and beef!  Victory is always close by, during meals, to gobble up Alex’s food droppings, and Victory is even getting more brave going under Alex’s highchair to eat the food droppings, while Alex is still in her highchair!

Alex did pretty well at her fifteenth month doctor’s appointment; however, she is not keen on going to the doctor’s, even for well visits.  And, of course, she is still off the charts!  Alex also had her first trip to the dentist during this time.  The pediatric dentist was very nice and thorough; however, as mentioned, Alex is not keen of any medical professional these days!  Importantly, her two-year molars are the last teeth to come in, and then we are done with teething!  Yay!  At the dentist, the tears came, but the dentist got done what she needed, thankfully.  Teeth brushing is not one of Alex’s favorite times, nor is it ours!  Flossing is a real struggle, as one could imagine!  Interestingly, it is actually easier for me to brush Victory’s teeth, and I brush her teeth about five mornings a week!

Alex will still cuddle with me in her glider, right before bed, in her dark room, just before placing her in her crib, and I love receiving her kisses and hugs, hearing her talk, and feeling her soft curly hair against the side of my face, as I know these times will not last forever.  We are doing our best to embrace the now, the present.  I am savoring each day with her and she is one of my greatest teachers, in addition to Victory and Biscuit.  Alex has a beautiful smile, eyes, and personality — we think she is absolutely adorable!  Alex is worth every minute of our wait and our journey to get her; ultimately, she entered our lives right on time, when she was supposed to come.  We are so happy we get to be Alex’s parents.  I am very grateful to be able to document our every day, as these seemingly ordinary moments are so precious and fleeting; I always want to have these images for posterity.  Life is good; and we love getting a front row seat seeing our adventurous girl grow up!  Each month gets even more fun with our girls, Alex and Victory!  We are so, so grateful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few iphone images from Alex’s fifteenth month!

 

Here is a video from Alex’s fifteenth month — Alex in the pool at her swim lesson!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few iphone images from Alex’s sixteenth month!

 

Here is a video from Alex’s sixteenth month — Alex at Pump It up!

 

Here is a video from Alex’s sixteenth month — Alex at Nordstrom’s helping Mamma pick out some new boots, while saying, “I sit!”